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Chrysler LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York today and will form an alliance with the Italian carmaker Fiat Group SpA in an effort to revive the nation’s ailing third-largest automaker.
The move will idle Chrysler production workers across the nation for 60 days or more, including about 6,000 employees in Indiana who work at four plants in Kokomo.
The Obama administration said it had long hoped to stave off bankruptcy, but it became clear that a holdout group of creditors wouldn’t budge on proposals to reduce Chrysler’s $6.9 billion in secured debt. Clearing those debts was a needed step for Chrysler to restructure by today’s government-imposed deadline.
Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler hopes to emerge from bankruptcy in as little as 60 days under the new partnership with Fiat. The government, which has already poured $4 billion in loans into Chrysler, would provide up to $8 billion more to carry the company through bankruptcy, said senior administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity. The government will also help appoint a new board of directors.
Under bankruptcy, Chrysler would still sell cars and the government would back its auto warranties. But Chrysler said today that it would idle its plants during the legal proceedings. CEO, Robert Nardelli said he would leave when the bankruptcy is complete.
“No one should be confused about what a bankruptcy process means,” President Barack Obama said in a midday announcement. “This is not a sign of weakness but rather one more step on a clearly chartered path to Chrysler’s revival.”
The deals give Chrysler “a new lease on life,” Obama said.
“This is not a sign of weakness,” he said. “I have every confidence that Chrysler will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive.”
When that occurs, the automaker would end up owned by the United Auto Workers union, the U.S. government and Fiat. The Canadian and Ontario governments, which are also contributing financing, would have small stakes.
But Fiat, which the Obama administration hopes can jump-start Chrysler with its fuel-efficient and lower-emission technology, could end up the majority stakeholder. Fiat would initially get 20 percent, a share that could rise to 35 percent if certain benchmarks are met. Fiat said today it could get an additional 16 percent by 2016 if Chrysler’s U.S. government loans are fully repaid.
Obama said Chrysler Financial, the arm of the company that makes loans to buyers and to dealers to finance their inventories, will be merged into GMAC Financial Services, once General Motors Corp.’s finance arm. The new GMAC will get government support. Chrysler’s base of dealers would also be pared down.
The Treasury Department’s auto task force has been racing in the past week to clear the major hurdles that prevented Chrysler from coming up with a viable plan to survive the economic crisis ravaging nation’s automakers.
Along with the Fiat deal, the UAW ratified a cost-cutting pact last night.
The Treasury reached a deal earlier this week with four banks that hold the majority of Chrysler’s debt in return for $2 billion in cash. But the administration said about 40 hedge funds that hold roughly 30 percent of that debt also needed to sign on for the deal to go through. Those creditors said the proposal was unfair and they were holding out for a better deal.
“I don’t stand with them,” Obama said.
A person briefed on last night’s events said the Treasury Department and the four banks tried to persuade the hedge funds to take a sweetened deal of $2.25 billion in cash. But in the end, the source said most thought they could recover more if Chrysler went into bankruptcy and some of its assets were sold to satisfy creditors. This person asked not to be identified because details of the negotiations have not been made public.
Today, a group of funds identifying themselves as 20 of Chrysler’s “non-TARP lenders” released a statement saying they had been sidelined during negotiations between lenders and the government. The group, which said it holds $1 billion in Chrysler debt, complained that the four banks were “obviously conflicted” because they had accepted money from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program while they had not gotten TARP money.
The group said its offer to the Treasury Department to reduce its claim to 40 percent was “flatly rejected or ignored.”
Fiat is getting its stake in Chrysler for giving the company access to its fuel-efficient technology, a move toward cleaner cars that the Obama administration thinks is critical to Chrysler’s future survival. The company has committed to building Fiat cars in Chrysler factories, to be sold as Chryslers.
Obama’s auto task force in March rejected Chrysler’s restructuring plan and gave it 30 days to make another effort, including a tie-up with Fiat.
Chrysler’s bankruptcy filing said it owes more than $10 million apiece to 20 of its unsecured creditors, many of whom are vendors and suppliers.
At the top of that list were Ohio Module Manufacturing Co. ($70.3 million), BBDO Detroit Inc. ($58.1 million), Johnson Controls Inc. ($50.3 million), Continental Automotive ($47 million), Cummins Engine Co. ($43.9 million) and Germany-based Germersheim Spare Parts ($36.2 million).


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Nintendo is hot right now, and Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo is ready to make the most of it with a whole new range of Nintendo themed shirts, coming to stores in the US on May 19.
The designs were created as part of the Uniqlo Global T-Shirt Design Competition, which attracted over 16,000 entries. Shigeru Miyamoto himself helped pick out the top 25 to be turned into t-shirts. The new Nintendo collection features Super Mario, Pokemon, Star Fox, Pikmin, Zelda and more.
The competition launched back in June 2016. As well as getting to see their designs in stores around the world the first place design won $10,000 and second place scored $3000. Both also received a Miyamoto-signed Nintendo Switch. The remaining 23 designers got $500 each.

domain: news


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For remedy of the group of technological methods, see automation; engineering; production system; systems engineering; work, historical past of the group of. Tech news web sites and blogs cover a variety of subjects associated to technology, including new product releases, business trends, software program and hardware updates, cybersecurity points, emerging technologies, and extra. This shiny outlook for practitioners in most fields highlights the challenge facing employers who’re struggling to find enough talent to maintain up with their calls for.
Eu Warns Elon Musk Of Potential Investigation Over Hamas Content
Proof of stake offers a approach to verify transactions with out using a lot energy. Ethereum plans to transition to the system this yr, slicing power use by ninety nine.95%. They’re made using plentiful supplies and could presumably be cheaper and more practical than different forms of grid storage. Keysight is a technology enabler providing design and test options for rising applied sciences.
Indian telecommunications provider Bharti Airtel has examined Swedish telco vendor Ericsson’s pre-commercial reduced functionality software program on its 5G community. A survey by EY shows 81 per cent Canadian companies experienced at least 25 cybersecurity incidents over the past year, in comparison with seventy three per cent of respondents globally. You ought to make a list of one of the best lesser identified tech websites like the two I listed beneath. At first thanks for sharing this wonderful prime 10 record of finest Tech Blogs. I’ve met with those websites very before and still love to learn them to know all of the update about Tech World.
Africa Tech Competition 2023
The WIRED conversation illuminates how technology is altering every side of our lives—from tradition to business, science to design. The breakthroughs and improvements that we uncover result in new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. This website is using a safety service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that might set off this block together with submitting a sure word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed information. Researchers have invented an experimental wearable device that generates energy from a user’s bending finger and can create and store recollections, in a promising step in the direction of well being monitoring and …
With a team of devoted developers, we assist all-scale companies by offering hi-tech business options. The hottest cleantech tendencies are electrical vehicles, photo voltaic panels, rechargeable batteries, and biofuel-powered turbo turbines. Businesses planning to set up their business in present occasions can think of investing in clear applied sciences Technology news and remain assured of success and development in the coming time. Also, businesses hold searching ‘How much does it value to develop a video conferencing app? Overall, edtech professionals can reap the benefits of this new technology and construct a greater career by developing one of the best schooling functions.


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The Zabbix Python SDK by Jesús Losada allows developers to integrate the Zabbix API into their Python applications. This SDK requires Python 2.6+ and 3.2+. It supports all Zabbix versions starting with Zabbix 1.8.
Mobile apps search engine Mimvi has announced a partnership with API marketplace Mashape that will allow the Mimvi API to be marketed, monetized, and distributed through Mashape's marketplace. Mimvi aims to put its world-class tools in the hands of developers across the globe and empower users to better serve consumer needs.
Rendering engines inside browsers have been the subject of some of the fiercest debate across the Web. Although HTML5 represents a significant advance in terms of the richness of Web applications, industry giants such as Facebook have balked over what are often described as “black box” implementations of rendering engines in browsers that support HTML5 and that were not nearly as fast as native environments on mobile computing devices.
In Chicago today eBay will kick-off of their annual eBay Developer's Conference by announcing Project Echo, a way for outside developers to integrate their apps "directly onto the world's largest ecommerce site".


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Wawa Partners With Brewery To Create Limited Edition Beer
The convenience store franchise Wawa says it is partnering with a suburban Philadelphia brewery to create a limited edition beer.
Wawa's Winter Reserve Coffee Stout, brewed by 2SP Brewing Co., blends Wawa's Winter Blend coffee into a stout beer. The beer will be launched on Dec. 6 at a Wawa store in Chadds Ford — the only Wawa in Pennsylvania that sells beer.
The beer will be available for purchase during the week of Dec. 10 through Origlio Beverage, which distributes to neighborhood bars and bottle shops in southeastern Pennsylvania. Only 1,000 cases of the brew will be available.
2SP Director of sales and marketing Michael Contreras says the brewery pitched the idea in October after a meeting where brewers shared Wawa coffee with one another.


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Pastures are now alive
Updated: 2013-11-28 10:00
By Sun Yuanqing (China Daily)
The farm also boasts fresh milk by free-range cows.
The farm has so far developed more than 1,133 hectares of pasture, on which more than 600 Holstein cows, 200 Corriedale sheep and 350 goats are raised.
Every year, it produces 30 tons of grass seeds and 1,800 tons of milk. The farm is also working with more than 100 local farmers, who raise another 1,000 cows.
Lu Mingqiong, a former corn farmer, began to raise cows in 2004. Starting with two cows, she now has 33, which bring her at least 80,000 yuan ($13,109) profit a year.
|Bleat of the hybrid ushers in new era|
|Seeds of hope|
"By raising cows for a month, I earned as much as growing corn for a whole year," Lu says. "For the first few months, we lost money. It wouldn't have been possible without the support from the farm."
Lu and her husband take care of more than 6.7 hectares of grassland on the farm. All the grass seeds and fertilizers are free. Whenever they have a question, they call the technicians for help.
When 24-hour grazing is not possible during the summer months, the farmers make up for it with self-made silage and hay.
Because the grazing animals get more exercise than those reared in pens, they produce 20 kilograms of milk one day, only one-third the amount of the pen-reared animals.
"But as long as the quality of the milk meets our standard, the farmers' returns are guaranteed," says Wang Yingfen, deputy director of the farm.
Every day the farm collects the milk from farmers like Lu, processes and sells on their behalf. It purchases the milk for 7.6 yuan per kilogram, regardless of fluctuations of the market price, which is currently about 6 yuan.
While the farm is equipped with cultivation and harvesting machinery, it is still considered to have big potential in terms of technology, says Ross de Clifford, an agriculture major from Massey University who came to Dushan in September to give a two-week training course in dairy to local farmers.
"China reminds me of what New Zealand was 50 years ago. The technologies used are very limited and they are not cost-effective," De Clifford says.
The Dushan farm has more than 70 people working on it, but much less labor would be used in New Zealand for the same amount of work as most labor would be replaced by machinery, he says.
"In the next 10 years, the biggest area of improvement for Chinese farms is in technology, such as effective fencing. It's a good thing that the farm is now changing from steel fence to electric fence, which is easier to control," De Clifford says.
Su Jiangyuan and Li Jun contributed to the story.
Related: Time line
For more Eco China, here


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TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) -- A local diamond store gave a surprise gift to a deserving customer.
Debbie Kealy and her 36-year-old son, Jason, share a close bond. A few months ago, the two went Christmas shopping at Diamonds by Design.
"He knows I love jewelry and I love rings," says Debbie.
The store manager says Jason picked out a sapphire and diamond ring for his mother.
"He really loved the ring and wanted his mom to have it," said store manager Jessica Schaefer.
But Debbie says there was no way she could afford it, so Jason decided to put it on layaway for his mother and help her with the payments.
Then, on September 22nd, Jason suddenly passed away inside his home due to heart problems with his mother right by his side.
"I started CPR on him and everything but I knew he was already gone by that time, you know, cause he started turning blue," Debbie cries.
Diamonds by Design workers did their routine payment calls and when they called Debbie, they learned about her situation: Debbie couldn't pay the remaining balance on the ring.
The store co-owner did the unexpected: she mailed a UPS box to Debbie's doorstep with no additional charge.
"And I'm like no way, and I opened the box of course I was shaking and I opened the box and lo and behold the ring that Jason had picked out for me was in that box," says Debbie.
"We just felt like it was the right thing to do and you know bring a little joy into her life," says Diamonds by Design co-owner, Marcia Brenner.
Debbie says the beautiful ring will always remind her of her beloved son.
"It just means the world to me that they did that," says Debbie.
The ring was worth $900.


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Tag: 3530 N. Southport Avenue
Oros Apparel now open at 3530 N. Southport Avenue through March 2023
What is Oros Apparel?
Oros Apparel Opening First Brick-and-Mortar on Southport Avenue in Chicago
This will be the company’s first brick-and-mortar, with plans to open more
Oros Apparel opening a brick and mortar store on Southport Avenue
Claire’s now open at 3530 N. Southport Avenue
Claire’s has opened at 3530 N. Southport Avenue, former space of DavidsTEA. What do you think about the new addition to the Avenue?
“Claire’s is a global brand powerhouse for self-expression, creating exclusive, curated and fun fashionable jewelry and accessories, and offering world-leading piercing services. The company operates under two brand names: Claire’s and ICING.
We operate 2,300 Claire’s stores in 17 countries throughout North America and Europe and 190 ICING stores in North America. We also sell Claire’s products in thousands of concessions locations in North America and Europe, and we have more than 300 franchised Claire’s stores, located primarily in the Middle East and South Africa.”
Claire’s store build-out has started at 3530 N. Southport Avenue
Claire’s spells ‘Corridor’ wrong
Claire’s is coming to 3530 N. Southport Avenue
Sunglass Hut not coming to Southport
Rumors had been swirling from M2’s final social media post on their closing
From M2’s farewell post earlier last month, they had indicated that Claire’s and Sunglass Hut were going into 3530 N. Southport Avenue.Continue reading “Sunglass Hut not coming to Southport”


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Are we staring down at another AI winter? At a time when artificial intelligence has made a massive economical and societal impact and has proven to be an economically viable technique – talk about AI winters have been relegated to a corner. Rightly so – machine learning has made immeasurable improvements in computer vision, speech recognition, drone technology, cyber security and even intelligent weaponry. This means that the buzz around machine learning is substantiated by practical business applications, adding value in enterprise settings. In other words, it means the current boom in AI is unmatched and may not go through the boom and bust cycle as witnessed previously.
The current cycle has proven the economic potential of AI
Of late, AI has made deeper inroads in business settings and found its way into production systems in companies (vertical-focused companies such MasterCard, Ford) besides big tech companies such as Nvidia, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook – this just goes on to demonstrate how big a game changer AI has become for enterprises. Given that AI is poised to add $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, one can’t seriously posit that we will be facing another AI winter. A PwC report indicated that global GDP will be 14% higher in 2030 and productivity improvements are expected to account for half of all gains to 2030. Of all the countries, the maximum economic gains from AI will be reaped by China and USA.
In terms of technology, several key improvements in hardware and techniques such as data cleansing and feature engineering have also pushed AI development forward. Also, there is a lot of experimentation going in new algorithms such as One Shot Learning that promise lower requirements of processing power and data quantities.
Current AI cycle following the demand supply curve
A major reason why the current AI cycle will not go through the boom and bust phase is the widespread adoption of technology across the business landscape. While the suppliers of AI technology have grown exponentially, lowered barriers in adoption and deployment has led to a growth on the demand side as well. From
AIM enumerates why there will be no more AI winters in the near future:
1) Research in AI has picked up pace: This is undoubtedly a golden period for research in artificial intelligence and will continue at a dizzying pace for the next few years, before applications become mature and become applicable outside the lab. A McKinsey report indicated that AI investment is growing fast, dominated by digital giants like Google and Baidu that have spent $20 billion to $30 billion on AI in 2016, out of which 90 percent of this spent was on R&D and deployment, and 10 percent on AI acquisitions.
Besides surging investment by big tech companies, there has been an explosion in publishing scientific papers – another key metric of establishing hegemony in this field. Search giant Google’s tally to MIT indicated it published 218 journal or conference papers on machine learning in 2016, twice the number it published in 2014. When AI reaches a point of maturity and becomes integral to applications and industries, it will surely become yesterday’s news.
2) AI Funding is at an all-time high: Investment in AI is at an all-time high with digital natives like Google, Amazon, Baidu and Alibaba betting billions on the technology. The McKinsey report succinctly put that investment in AI has turned into a race for patents and intellectual property (IP) among the world’s big tech giants. While U.S.-based companies absorbed 66% of all AI investments in 2016. China was second with 17% and growing fast, report posits. Meanwhile, venture capitalists invested $4 billion to $5 billion in AI in 2016, and private equity firms invested between $1 billion to $3 billion – this is more than three times as much as in 2013. Cash-rich big tech companies are quick to snap up AI-startups to bolster their talent pool.
3) Too much money on stake in AI, companies under immense pressure to prove value: According to Case Greenfield, Founder CEO at Aiandus, a consulting firm specializing in AI – too much money has already been poured by big corporates, big venture capitalists and big governments to simply accept depreciation of those investments, he noted. This goes on to substantiate that cash rich companies and governments across the globe are under immense pressure to reap value from the investment. “Too much money has been poured into AI to accept depreciation of such investments. And it is widely expected, that investments in AI will dramatically increase in the coming years, from the 2017 estimated US$ 5 Billion (startups) up to some say US$ 37 Billion or more in 2025,” he added.
4) Academia & Enterprises join hands to develop industry-focused solutions: The reason for AI winters was reduced funding from private & government sector that led to a dwindling research output. This is very different from the present scenario where both academia and corporate giants are milking the benefits of AI with leading tech institutes making a concerted push to make research more industry driven to attract industry funding and conduct collaborative research to develop next-gen technologies and solutions.
This global phenomenon – setting up R&D facilities next to tech institutes has found a resonance in India with IIT Madras setting up a research park to forge closer partnerships with several leading companies.
Globally, Facebook recently opened an AI lab in Paris while Google invested $4.5 million in MILA, a research lab at the University of Montreal. Meanwhile, Intel donated $1.5 million to set up a machine learning and cybersecurity research center at Georgia Tech and leading AI hardware company NVIDIA is planning to set up an AI lab at National Taiwan University in Taipei.
5) Governments across the world are embracing AI: Across the globe, governments have woken up to the potential of AI with countries like China, Canada, US and UK on top of the adoption curve. Not to lag behind in the AI race, Singapore, UAE, India and Australia have also committed a sizable funding to ramp up AI efforts and build AI focused economy. In the AI race, China is a clear winner with the Government announcing a slew of AI-centred plans for world domination by 2035. Recently, the Chinese government announced plans for a US$ 2 Billion AI research park Beijing and the country is also mulling to implement a nation-wide system of AI-powered face recognition.
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Richa Bhatia is a seasoned journalist with six-years experience in reportage and news coverage and has had stints at Times of India and The Indian Express. She is an avid reader, mum to a feisty two-year-old and loves writing about the next-gen technology that is shaping our world.


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Shares of the following companies are having unusual moves in U.S. trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are as of 9:40 a.m. in New York.
Borders Group Inc. (BGP US) slumped 15 percent to 98 cents. The bookstore chain has suspended payments to some publishers as refinancing talks continue, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Publishers Marketplace.
Clearwire Corp. (CLWR US) slipped 1.5 percent to $5.14. The Kirkland, Washington-based company creating a nationwide high- speed wireless network using WiMax technology said Chairman Craig McCaw will step down. McCaw informed Clearwire on Dec. 29 that he was leaving, according to a filing. The decision wasn’t the result of any disagreement, the company said.
Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp Inc. (FMMH US) rose 9.6 percent to $28.50. Biglari Holdings Inc. (BH US) increased its offer to buy the property and casualty insurance company to $31 a share.
Imax Corp. (IMAX US) rallied 19 percent to $31.85. Sony Corp. may be preparing to bid more than $40 a share for the company that designs and makes giant-screen movie theaters, the Daily Mail reported, citing London traders. Walt Disney Co. may also be interested in bidding for Imax, the newspaper said.
Kforce Inc. (KFRC US) declined 0.9 percent to $16.39. The staffing company said it started a stock buyback plan that is effective from Jan. 6 through Feb. 11, according to a regulatory filing.
Molycorp Inc. (MCP US) fell 2.1 percent to $50.91. Chief Executive Officer Mark Smith said the owner of the world’s largest non-Chinese deposit of rare-earth metals was in discussions with potential joint venture partners and customers trying to find other suppliers of the minerals after China’s supply cut, Reuters reported.
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR US) gained 0.3 percent to $13. The biotechnology company said Chief Operating Officer Bharatt Chowrira will leave the company Jan. 3, with a $600,000 one-time severance payment, as well as monthly payments.
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (ODFL US) lost 0.2 percent to $31.98. The U.S. regional trucker said John Yowell, its chief operating officer, died. Yowell had been with the company since 1983, according to a regulatory filing. The company plans to start a succession plan “at the appropriate time.”
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S US) rose 1 percent to $4.21. The third-largest U.S. mobile-phone carrier is likely to buy $200 million of Clearwire Corp. debt in order to maintain its more than 50 percent stake, according to Ben Abramovitz, an analyst at Kaufman Bros LP.
Thomas & Betts Corp. (TNB US) advanced 0.8 percent to $48.42. The Memphis, Tennessee-based manufacturer of electrical components had its price estimate raised to $57 from $53 at Robert W. Baird & Co.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at email@example.com.


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Green Mountain Earnings: 1 Key Takeaway From the Conference Call
Investors pushed shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters higher by as much as 17% at the open today after the company delivered better-than-expected fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Wednesday. It was a monster quarter for the specialty coffee retailer. Adjusted earnings climbed 56% to $0.89 per share in the fourth quarter, which was above analyst expectations for $0.75 a share. Revenue also impressed, coming in at $1 billion in the quarter, up 22% from the year-ago period.
For fiscal 2013, Green Mountain posted adjusted EPS of $3.39, on revenue of $4.4 billion for the year. Unfortunately, things turned bitter when the company forecast revenue growth in the low-to-mid single digits for its current quarter. This new outlook calls for adjusted earnings of $0.85 to $0.90 for its first quarter of fiscal 2014. Even at the high end of its guidance, that's still $0.06 short of analysts' expectations for $0.96 a share.
As Green Mountain faces slowing growth in the year ahead, let's take a closer look at one telling tidbit from the company's earnings call last night.
Why future product innovation might not be enough
Looking to 2014, Investors will want to keep an eye on important product transitions. The first of these will include Green Mountain's new lineup of hot system brewers. Green Mountain, which is known for its Keurig brewing system, will also roll out new portion packs specifically designed for use in its next-generation 2.0 machines.
The specialty coffee retailer says its upgraded portion packs will include "an interactive readability that will deliver the full extent of the breakthrough consumer benefits coming" with the new brewers.
However, that's a lot of colorful wording about a product (portion packs) that anyone can make and sell these days. If you remember, Green Mountain lost two key patents last year that protected its popular K-Cups technology from competitors. Unfortunately, without the patent protection, rivals including Starbucks and various grocery store chains have entered the market with their own single-serve pods.
With companies such as Whole Foods now selling their own private-label pods for use in the Keurig System, Green Mountain's market share is quickly deteriorating. On the conference call, the company said it has learned from these past mistakes and is doing things differently with its upcoming Keurig 2.0 platform. Specifically, the new system will not brew unlicensed packs. Now let's think about this for a moment. If I own one of Green Mountain's older machines that can brew a variety of pods, why would I buy the new version that will only work with Green Mountain licensed packs? It seems Green Mountain is making a big bet on the likelihood that consumers will purchase and use its new 2.0 system.
Nevertheless, the company reassured analysts on the call saying that it is "actively engaged in discussions with a large number of unlicensed players to welcome them into the system." To be fair, Green Mountain has forged strategic relationships with some important brands so far including Starbucks. Earlier this year, the world's biggest coffee retailer agreed to a five-year extension of its previous partnership with Green Mountain.
However, this could be a harder sell for other names in the space. After all, why would a company such as Whole Foods agree to pay royalties to Green Mountain on pods that it already makes and sells on its own? In fact, "Whole Foods Market did not even consider Green Mountain Coffee as a supplier" for these pods, according to USA Today. Moreover, other companies might choose to follow Whole Foods' lead.
A smarter way to perk up your portfolio
Green Mountain shareholders should be cautious here, as the company's best days may now be behind it. On the recent conference call, investors learned that Green Mountain will roll out an updated product line and that it hopes to strong arm rivals into new licensing agreements. Yet, even with these developments on the horizon, the longer-term growth story is still eroding.
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The article Green Mountain Earnings: 1 Key Takeaway From the Conference Call originally appeared on Fool.com.Fool contributor Tamara Rutter owns shares of Starbucks. The Motley Fool recommends Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. It recommends and owns shares of Starbucks and Whole Foods Market. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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The real antitrust concern is with potential constraints on ambient computing. Then, Google has its own Services Narrative, and Netflix’s earnings should be viewed with concern.
It was Apple’s turn to be in the spotlight in China; what was surprising was how unprepared the company seemed to be. Then, why companies dealing with China, including Apple, should be more honest.
Apple is softening App Store lock-in by the barest amount possible. Then, Google shows its power in France, but a case against Facebook shows how limited that power is.
The “Always-on” Apple Watch update is an important one, additional notes from Apple’s event, and why the company is likely being honest about App Store Search
The New York Times has a compelling expose of how Apple dominates App Store search. Then, WeWork may not IPO, although its CEO will be fine; the bigger question, though is about SoftBank’s Vision Fund.
Tinder is moving away from Google Play Store’s payment system, which makes sense given the app’s pricing power. Then, how the app store tax warps costs, and why Apple may not see much upside from getting into modems.
A review of the potential antitrust cases against Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon suggests that only Google is vulnerable.
Why a better name for Apple’s Audacity was “The First Post-iPhone Keynote”; then, why a broad focus on tech by antitrust authorities is good for Google, and the implications of the Supreme Court getting *Pepper* wrong.
Apple defends the App Store, with has genuine benefits, rather unconvincingly. Then, an illuminating interview about Apple’s App Store motivations.
The antitrust case against the Apple App Store is going to move forward. It’s the wrong decision, and the reasons why explain why new legislation is needed.


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NOTE: This article may include commentary reflecting the author’s position.
It looks like the mockery of Bud Light isn’t stopping anytime soon.
Bud Light took a lot of heat after controversial TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted a couple of videos showing the brand’s support of his “Days of Girlhood” videos where he parades around as an unflattering caricature of a woman.
The weird pairing of Bud Light, a beer that is mostly associated with college kids and sports fans, and this Womanface aficionado who creepily prances around talking about tampons and that society just needs to “embrace the bulge” since he is a guy and doesn’t have a “Barbie Pocket” is just bizarre.
It was offensive to the Bud Light customer base and to women who find this blatant mockery absolutely distasteful.
Bud lost a ton of money after that little stunt and instead of an apology, quickly put out an ad hoping to appease their customer base.
Here it is:
It didn’t work.
The brand has taken a big hit and they’re desperate to get back into the good graces of their fan base, but it might be too late.
YouTuber MrReagan shared a parody of that Bud Light commercial with his nearly 350K followers, and it’s pretty amazing.
Some conservatives have been making apologies for Bud insisting that Anhesuer-Busch is actually less woke than some of the alternatives and donates heavily to the GOP.
That’s precisely why the backlash is working — conservatives make up a big part of the customer base.
Let’s hope that this boycott continues to hold because it’s getting the message across that people are getting tired of the trans stuff getting shoved at them from every direction.
We need things that we can all enjoy that are deliberately not taking sides in the culture war.
As for Mulvaney, he has made the Womanface gig into quite a lucrative business. He’s secured partnerships with a number of brands, including some big names — Aritzia, Haus Labs, K18 Hair, KIND Snacks, Rent the Runway, Ole Henriksen, Crest, Instacart, Kate Spade, KitchenAid, CeraVe, Nike, and more.
It’s particularly offensive when he becomes the face of brands that are uniquely marketed for women — Tampax, UltaBeauty, Oil of Olay, and most recently, Maybelline.
After Nike and Anheiser Bush (Bud Light), now Maybelline makeup has appointed Dylan Mulvaney, a man, as their new brand ambassador.
Imagine thinking it’s a good idea disrespecting 97% of your customer base. This didn't work out so well for the other two brands. pic.twitter.com/BjBGtK8GDX
— Stan Voice of Wales (@StanVoWales) April 24, 2023
They’re going to need to change their slogan, “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline” because it does not apply here since that’s a dude. It’s all Maybelline.
Mulvaney is a former Broadway performer who was desperate for attention. He didn’t get it when he came out as a flamboyantly gay man, nor did he get it when he was dressed as a woman and announced he was now “non-binary”, but he finally got it after coming out as a “transwoman.”
This person is so utterly offensive to so many women, that even those that were willing to live and let live are getting ticked. Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly has been railing against Mulvaney on her podcast.
Recently, she and Allie Beth Stuckey dug into Mulvaney’s background and exposed him as the narcissist attention-seeker.
Mulvaney finally he got the attention that he wanted — but he’s not so happy with the way it’s playing out. Just a few days ago, he said that it should be “illegal” for conservative media to call him a man and use male pronouns.
Sorry, Dylan. The truth doesn’t care about your feelings and men cannot magically become women no matter how much you prance around in a dress and talk about tampons.
There are some great people throughout history that didn’t sugar-coat the hard truths simply to spare people’s feelings.
John The Baptist: A Rude Awakening Precedes A Great Awakening.
This timely little tome chronicles the politically incorrect ministry of one of God’s most effective wildmen, John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Christ’s ministry.
The abrasive message of repentance John preached 2000 years ago is still confrontational and offensive today — but it is also life-changing.
In our putrid, worldly culture that has turned away from God, this book is a must-read for every Christian.
Available in paperback for those of you who like the feel of the pages in your hot, little hands, on Kindle to keep it right at your fingertips, and as an epic Audiobook.


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National Hog Farmer is the source for hog production, management and market news
August 30, 2019
Much of the attention surrounding hog markets has focused on global demand over the past year, and with good reason. The United States lifted Mexican steel and aluminum tariffs in May. In turn, retaliatory tariffs on pork were removed in the highest volume pork export market for U.S. pork producers. Additionally, President Donald Trump at the recent G7 summit announced a trade agreement with Japan. Once implemented, this will place the United States back on a level playing field with international competitors in its highest value pork export market.
Meanwhile, African swine fever has destroyed, by some estimates, upwards of 30% of the total pig herd in China. This decrease in supply has created opportunity for exporting countries to fill the void in China, the world’s largest pork consumer. While U.S. producers face steep retaliatory tariffs in the Chinese market due to the ongoing trade war, this pork shortage should provide opportunities for back-filling other partner country demand needs, so the logic goes.
Given the seemingly bullish demand developments, why have lean hog futures dropped since their highs in April and come under more pressure as of late? It’s appropriate to look back at the oft forgotten other half of the economic equation: supply.
U.S. protein production creates competitive retail case
The expansion that the U.S. pork industry has embarked upon since the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus crisis in 2014 has led to five straight years of record pork production. The USDA estimates 2020 production will set another record at 28.4 billion pounds. Total slaughter this year should top 130 million head. The average U.S. consumer’s pork consumption patterns have changed over time as bacon has become a staple in new menu items, but per capita consumption of pork has largely been stagnant since the early 1980s.
Often lost in the discussion of pork market forces is pressure exerted on American consumers from increased production of other animal proteins, as well. According to the USDA, total red meat and poultry production will be record large in 2019 and again in 2020. While beef and turkey per capita consumption have largely flatlined in recent years, chicken meat consumption has skyrocketed over the past four decades (see Figure 1). Competition in the retail meat case from other proteins weighs on the pork complex. The fresh beef and broiler complexes have increased at a slower rate through the first seven months of the year than pork retail prices.
A closer look at the pork carcass cutout
The CME lean hog index takes a weighted average for two consecutive weekdays for negotiated, swine or pork market formula, and negotiated formula hogs according to the National Daily Direct Hog Prior Day Report-Slaughtered Swine released by the USDA. As more hogs are priced off the cutout, the cutout in turn plays a larger role in the lean hog futures price. It is important to understand how it is constructed and what primals are driving changes to its value.
Mandatory price reporting of wholesale pork began in January 2013. The USDA pork carcass cutout is computed daily and provides an estimate of the value of a 205-pound hog carcass based upon current wholesale prices. The largest component of the calculation is the loin (25.23%), followed by hams (24.68%) and bellies (16.22%).
We typically observe a peak rise in price heading into the summer grilling season as demand picks up and production begins to wane in the loin primal. Over the past several years, the loin’s price movement has been largely subdued. Throughout the majority of 2019, the weekly loin primal value has lagged previous years’ levels. Heavier carcass weights and higher slaughter counts have pressured the primal, leading to new lows since mandatory reporting began (see Figure 2). USDA also reported end-of-July loin stocks in cold storage at a record high for July 31 since records began in 1960 (see Figure 3).
The ham primal, which accounts for the second largest share of the overall cutout, has had its share of volatility over the past year. Mexico is the largest market for U.S. pork exports, the lion’s share of which is chilled bone-in hams and shoulders. Up until May, these products faced a 20% tariff in the lucrative Mexican market. This, in turn, weighed on the carcass cutout in general and the ham primal in particular. The trade barrier caused ham stocks to soar to record levels earlier this year for the end of February timeframe. Hams hit a low of $59.64 per hundredweight heading into Independence Day before gaining $25 per hundredweight by the end of July.
The ham primal continues to be pressured as the industry looks for the Mexican export market to fully recover to pre-tariff levels, recently dropping back below the July low.
The third largest component, and the primal that has provided the most volatility to the cutout in recent years, is the belly. Despite record large pork belly production, belly stocks have remained largely in line with historical norms and relatively current. Bacon demand in the retail space has held up well — July 2019 bacon retail prices averaged $5.60 per pound, the third highest July price level over the past decade. As the popularity of bacon continues to grow, the ebb and flow of the belly primal has been the main driver of cutout movements.
U.S. pork production is poised to grow by 5.5% in the fourth quarter and another 2.8% in 2020, according to the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. Official export data are currently available through June 2019, which indicates pork exports are 2% lower than 2018. In order to achieve USDA projected export levels, exports must increase significantly between now and the end of the year.
A new quarterly hogs and pigs report will be released at the end of the month and if recent trends continue, we can expect to see significant improvements in litter rates contributing to a growing herd. As we move into the cooler months of fall, domestic supply tends to become more of a headwind and weigh on cash markets.
First quarter through third quarter margins next year exceed the 70th percentile of profitability over the past decade. While they lag the stronger profitability projected earlier this year, these levels may fit into some operations’ risk management strategy. Although the supply side looks to remain cumbersome for the foreseeable future, opportunities may present themselves ahead of time to protect favorable margins. For example, it was possible back in April to protect margins above the 90th percentile for the fourth quarter 2019 and throughout the majority of 2020. It is important to be ready to strike when the iron is hot and take advantage of favorable market opportunities that fit into your operation’s profitability goals.
Export demand and the geopolitical environment provide the market with volatility and market analysts with fodder. It is exciting to discuss bullish opportunities, but it is also necessary to recognize hard realities of the significant amount of protein we already have, and more heading our way. Given strong margins in deferred periods, producers may choose hedging strategies that would still allow for unlimited upside potential while retaining protection from lower price levels should the promising demand outlook change.
Source: Dustin Baker, who is solely responsible for the information provided, and wholly owns the information. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.
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Digital TV News: TransGaming
Robust adoption of VOD services expected in Asia-Pacific
Mar 15, 2016 – According to Future Market Insights, the global Video on Demand service market was valued at US$45,034.3m in 2014 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 8.3% over its forecast period (2016-2026).
News categories: Future Market Insights, Asia, Cable TV, Digital TV, IPTV, Market Research, Mobile, Streaming, Worldwide
GameTree TV games for Liberty Global Horizon STBs
Feb 24, 2015 – TransGaming (TSX VENTURE:TNG) has announced a partnership to bring its GameTree TV on-demand TV games to Liberty Global's Horizon cable set-top boxes. GameTree TV will now be available throughout most of Europe.
News categories: TransGaming, Liberty Global, Dennis Ensing, Apps, Cable TV, Digital TV, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Set Top Box, Switzerland
One-third of smart TVs compatible with the Smart TV Alliance development toolkit
Jan 5, 2015 – Application developers registered with the Smart TV Alliance can now develop applications for 58 million smart TVs in a single, integrated process within the Smart TV Alliance Common Developer Portal.
News categories: Smart TV Alliance, Apps, Digital TV, Market Research, Smart TV, Streaming, Worldwide
Gametree HTML5 games added to ActiveVideo CloudTV
Dec 9, 2014 – TransGaming (TSX VENTURE:TNG) has announced the availability of its on-demand gaming platform GameTree TV to pay-TV operators worldwide. In partnership with ActiveVideo, GameTree TV will be added to ActiveVideo's CloudTV software platform.
News categories: TransGaming, ActiveVideo, Vikas Gupta, Murali Nemani, Apps, Digital TV, HTML5, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Worldwide
GameTree™ TV launches on Philips Smart TVs
Sep 5, 2013 – TransGaming (TSX VENTURE:TNG) has announced the launch of GameTree™ TV on TP Vision's line of Philip's TVs. GameTree TV can be played on the 2013 Smart TV's showed at IFA.
News categories: TransGaming, TP Vision, Apps, IFABerlin, Smart TV
Amino showcases 'seamless' PayTV/OTT experience at IBC2012
Aug 29, 2012 – Amino (AIM: AMO) will showcase a range of enhancements across its product range at IBC 2012 designed to help operators deliver a seamless pay-TV and OTT experience to their customers.
News categories: Amino, ACCESS CO, DVR, IBC2023, IPTV, Middleware, Set Top Box, Streaming
Intel Unveils 45nm System-on-Chip for Internet TV
Sep 24, 2009 – Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) has unveiled the Intel® Atom™ processor CE4100, the newest System-on-Chip (SoC) in a family of media processors designed to bring Internet content and services to digital TVs, DVD players and advanced set-top boxes.
News categories: Intel Corp, Digital TV, DVD, ICs, Semiconductor, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming
- AMC Networks launches ad-supported version of AMC+
- Xumo launches Pioneer Xumo TVs at Best Buy
- VTV selects ENENSYS for distribution to DVB-T2 transmitters over DTH
- DIAGNAL and Lounges.tv extend technology partnership
- Global FAST revenues to hit $17 billion in 2029
- Videotex India's largest licensee manufacturer of webOS Hub TVs
- Tubi beta tests ChatGPT-powered content discovery
- Amagi partners with TAG Video Systems for FAST channel monitoring
- ViewNexa survey reveals dissatisfaction among streaming subscribers
- Cignal TV taps Quickplay for Pilipinas Live global sports app
- TiVo releases Q2 2023 video trends report
- Ateme powers Viacom18's Indian Premier League UHD experience
- Streaming now most popular TV source in Canada
- Pixalate releases H1 2023 EMEA CTV ad supply chain report
- Mirada to power MNC's Vision+ streaming service in Indonesia
- Munich court rules Netflix infringing Broadcom video patent
- India Smart TV market grew 8% YoY in 1H23
- TV Monaco starts operations supported by Qvest
- Caretta Research: MVPDs must evolve into 'super aggregators'
- Barb upgrades API with BVOD, SVOD, video-sharing and non-TV device data


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Pobjoy Mint has released a new bi-colour titanium coin on behalf of the British Virgin Islands featuring the popular flamingo. This coin has been produced in pink and light green titanium to capture the essence of this lovable bird.
Pobjoy Mint has released a 2019 dated Pegasus silver bullion. The coin is issued by the British Virgin Islands and shows the mythical horse Pegasus. Many coins from the territory have featured horses in Royal events, including Trooping the colour.
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Cops: Man steals kids' computers, then steals again
Published 5:52 pm, Tuesday, March 11, 2014
EAST GREENBUSH — After he was arraigned for allegedly stealing his kids' computers, a man went straight to a Wal-Mart and stole a $650 tablet, police said.
Scott Cleland, 25, of Troy was first charged with larceny on Feb. 20 for allegedly swiping three hand-held computers from his kids, police said.
After he was released from East Greenbush Town Court around 8:30 p.m., cops said, Cleland went right to a Troy Road Wal-Mart, unhooked a security device from a $650 tablet and ran out of the store.
In-store security footage caught Cleland stealing the tablet, cops said, though he was not arrested until Friday.
Cleland was arraigned, again, for larceny and sent to Rensselaer County jail after failing to post bail.


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The presence of plastics in the World Ocean is well known, but what do we know about its presence in the sea salt widely consumed by humans across the globe? A recent study by Malaysian researchers examining the purity of 17 commercial sea salt brands from eight different countries found chemical traces in all samples. The contaminants include microplastics and pigments associated with textile, rubber and fiberglass products.
The study was carried out by dissolving the salts and filtering out the remaining solid particles that were then examined visually using Raman spectroscopy, a process that identifies molecules by laser light. The scientists from Universiti Putra Malaysia who conducted the study analyzed salt from Australia, France, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Portugal and South Africa.
Sea salt is typically obtained evaporating off water, which leaves only the solids behind. Of the 72 distinct particles found 41.6% were determined to be plastic polymers, while another 23.6% were pigments. The mean size of these particles was around half a millimeter, with the largest close to a millimeter.
While the authors of the study state there are “negligible health risks associated with the consumption of salts” they warn that the “increasing trend of plastic use and disposal, however, might lead to the gradual accumulation of MPs [microplastics] in the oceans and lakes and, therefore, in products from the aquatic environments”
Think about it next time you will have Kettle Chips with Sea Salt & Microplastic Particles. Not exactly what one dreams of when envisioning a circular economy. However, it does teaches us an important lesson: everything we feed into the environment is eventually fed back to us.
Sources: Nature.com, Environews. Thanks Josephine.


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HP has signed up to the Google Apps Reseller Programme in a move that will be seen as a major milestone in boosting the overall credibility of Google Enterprise in business.
Under the terms of its new agreement HP will be offering small businesses Google Apps through a new product called HP SMB IT in a Box, which will offer Google’s cloud-based communication and collaboration tools on HP hardware, including PCs and printers.
HP said it would provide a management software layer to simplify customers’ IT environment and reduce their operating costs and infrastructure requirements.
Products based on Google’s Android and Chrome operating systems include the HP SlateBook x2, HP Slate7 and the HP Chromebook, although the success of the latter will depend on Chrome OS gaining credibility in business.
HP SMB IT in a Box will be offered through HP’s network of reseller partners, beginning in the US later this year with worldwide availability expected by the end of 2013.
“By moving to the cloud and helping employees work the way they live, SMBs can serve their customers better and save money in the process,” said Amit Singh, president, Google Enterprise.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have HP join the Google Apps Reseller Program and bring their decades of experience to helping SMEs thrive in the cloud. We look forward to working closely with HP moving forward to help businesses make the most of technology.”
The influx of new partners has been welcomed by a least one existing Google Apps reseller, who saw the move as a major endorsement of the growing importance of Google's business proposition.
Read more about Google Enterprise
David McLeman, managing director at Berks-based Ancoris, said: "For companies like ourselves in the midmarket I think this will be positive because it creates more awareness among customers. It's also a fantastic endorsement of what the Google team is doing."
Ancoris was recently approved by Google as a provider of Customer Success Services (CSS) for Google Apps for Business.
As a Google Apps Premier Reseller, this means that the firm met Google-specified criteria for delivering a consistently high standard of support and advisory services for Google Apps. Ancoris now offers Google Enterprise’s high-calibre services, which includes enhanced 7x24 technical support, proactive communication, advice and consultancy.
HP’s support of the Google ecosystem also represents a major step away from the Windows desktop environment. McLeman voiced the opinion that having been one of Microsoft's largest and most loyal partners, for HP to choose to engage with Google was "another piece of evidence that the world order is changing and the dominance of Microsoft Office, for example, is over."
"Implementing a Google Apps project generates significantly lower hardware revenues for channel partners," said McLeman, "so I am sure HP will have thought long and hard about doing this."
A version of this story first appeared on Computerweekly


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Small businesses employ almost half of all workers in the United States and have been responsible for much of the post-2008 economic recovery through their hiring efforts.
Over the past year, hiring activity has been on an upward trend for small businesses, with plans to add workers hitting the highest level since 1999.
SCORE’s latest Megaphone of Main Street Small Business Jobs Report surveyed more than 1, 700 small business owners to rate their hiring experiences of employees and contractors.
Difficulty filling positions
More than 50 percent of small businesses said it was very or somewhat difficult to fill open positions, with about 55 percent of micro businesses, or those with 0 to 4 employees, in agreement.
Twenty-seven percent of openings went unfilled in the past six months, which was consistent across different small business sizes and locations. Business owners cited problems finding skilled, qualified applicants as a primary reason for not filling positions.
Offering competitive wages and salaries is another common challenge, along with a lack of healthcare and other employee benefits. Hiring takes time, too — about 18 percent of all small businesses said it was too time-consuming to hire qualified workers - they’ll just do the job themselves.
Small businesses use job-posting sites, recommendations from other business owners, networking groups and online platforms drive hiring efforts, but by far, recommendations from other workers proved most fruitful in finding new employees.
Our infographic, “The Megaphone of Main Street: Small Business and Employment, ” identifies more hiring challenges faced by small businesses.
The gig economy and small business
The area of largest hiring growth among those surveyed was in one-time project or gig workers at 37 percent.
Eighteen percent of businesses reported replacing employees of any type with contractors over the past six months.
Of those business owners, 50.8 percent reported choosing a contractor or temporary worker for the benefit of their specialized expertise. Forty-one percent reported only having seasonal or temporary needs; 35.1 percent said they preferred hiring a contractor over needing ongoing cash reserves for payroll. The costs and complexities of offering employee benefits like healthcare and retirement plans also drove the decision to hire a contractor.
Forty-seven percent of solopreneurs reported hiring other people for part-time help running their businesses. Their firms had an average of 3.2 workers, including the owner.
Contractors are most likely to be called in to complete technical, accounting, bookkeeping and marketing tasks. Other important roles for contractors include manufacturing, sales, business planning and logistics.
When respondents noted their reasons for hiring an employee over a contractor, consistency of work and commitment to the company were primary. Having the same person in a position rather than a rotating contractor was another major factor, as was the ability to direct work tasks and schedule work hours.
Some business owners commented that their concerns about correctly following IRS regulations— and dealing with related paperwork — guided their decisions whether to hire a contractor or an employee.
For more insight on the growth of the gig economy, see our infographic “The Megaphone of Main Street: The Gig Economy.”
How does your experience hiring qualified employees and contractors fit in with our findings? Meet with a SCORE mentor about how to ensure you find the best talent for your growing small business.


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South Africa’s first dedicated online photo uploading competition site, Teedu.co.za, has gone live. The site is based on a system of challenges known as ‚”missions‚” and for each challenge completed, users are given a certain amount of points, which enters them into a draw for a prize.
‚”We want the South African market to understand that bridging the gap between on- and offline customer interaction does not have to be a complicated or costly affair,‚” explains Teedu director Tyrone Middleton. ‚”Companies can have a campaign up and running in under 24 hours, at minimal cost. This not only gives customers the opportunity to engage and have fun with the brand, but also affords the brands in question the chance to conduct market research and gain free publicity.‚”
The goal of the platform is to drive interaction with products, brands and services through various incentives. ‚”Many brands have followers on various social media sites, but aren’t getting optimal value from them,‚” Middleton explains. ‚”Teedu.co.za allows users to showcase the different ways they interact with a brand a hamburger chain, for example, might ask customers to upload photos of themselves enjoying their favourite burger in order to accumulate points. The incentive not only draws people to the restaurant, but promotes it and gives the owner insight into customer preferences.‚”
The format is up to the brand and the campaign can be as big or small as they chose. The Klipdrift challenge asks users to upload photos of themselves enjoying their favourite brandy, whereas the CHOC Cows Fundraiser wanted cow-inspired pictures.
Middleton says that Teedu is unique in that customers can enter a number of competitions from a single platform, free of charge. ‚”And there is no need to follow dozens of Facebook pages which ultimately leads to hundreds of notifications in your inbox,‚” Middleton goes on to say. ‚”It’s obligation-free.‚”


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The traveling market stops in Jackson Heights on Oct. 19.
The market will include the debut of Native Coffee Roasters, a new Astoria-based coffee company.
Vendors from around the borough will be selling their products this Saturday, in Sunnyside.
Queens Country Market is coming to Astoria for the first time.
The Queens County pop-up food market comes to Sunnyside on May 12.
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What happened during the week in quotes: the active use of a new cryptocurrency wallet by Salvadorans, attracting tourists to Thailand with their own token, continued discussion of the Free TON rebranding and other important events.
Free TON And Freeman — Rebranding Options
Echoes of a possible Free TON rebranding continue to be heard and many members of the community agreed that it is necessary. At the same time, the discussion participants emphasize the importance of a profound change in blockchain, not just a name change.
If you called an apple a persimmon and did nothing else, then it is still an apple.
The best rebranding is the implementation of quality options in blockchain technology. The name change will have little effect because getting rid of the scam in this way is somewhat of black PR. And nothing will prevent you from getting scammed for a new name. Then such a rebranding is a waste of time.
The solution could be a rebranding associated with the Free TON and Freeland collaboration. The Freeland character Mr. Freeman has a perfect reputation, his videos get a lot of views on YouTube — why not try rebranding in Freeman style?!
Free TON is a partner of Freeland and Mr.Freeman Universe. We are actually working on a Metaverse with Freeman Philosophy and Style but based on TON tech. Why not rebrand into the Freeman Style?
Salvadorans Actively Use Crypto Wallets Instead of Banks
As we remember, El Salvador became the first country in the world to allow its citizens to pay BTC on a par with the official currency. For the convenience of the residents, the Chivo wallet was released, which allows you to store both actively used currencies of the state on your account: bitcoins and dollars.
Surprisingly, over 2.1 million Salvadorans have used the wallet in the three weeks since it went online.
Here’s what the president of the country said on Twitter about it:
“2.1 million Salvadorans are ACTIVELY USING Chivowallet.
Chivo is not a bank, but in less than 3 weeks, it now has more users than any bank in El Salvador and is moving fast to have more users than ALL BANKS IN EL SALVADOR combined.
This is wild!”
Tourism Authority of Thailand Plans To Launch Its Token
Thailand passed cryptocurrency legislation in the spring. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) responded quickly and decided to take advantage of new opportunities — to issue its own TAT Coin token. The organization plans to use it to attract tourists to the country.
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the TAT:
“We have to prepare digital infrastructure and digital literacy for our tourism operators in order to commence cryptourism as the traditional business model might not be able to keep up with the new changes.”
NFT News of the Week
In 2012, a screenshot was taken of a video where a little girl reacts in a peculiar way to a trip to Disneyland. The picture, called “Side-eyeing Chloe” became very popular on the Internet, and an NFT token of the same name was created based on it.
Recently NFT was sold for an incredible amount of 25 ETH.
Its former owner shared this joyous event on Twitter.
SOLD TO @3fmusic for 25ETH. Thanks so much for all the bids! And thank you to the NFT community for helping us push this out to the market.
In the meantime, Dogecoin (DOGE) meme-coin co-founder Billy Marcus is looking forward to finalizing the bridge between DOGE and Ethereum so that NFT can finally be bought and sold using DOGE.
He shared this on his Twitter:
“Two things I believe would help Dogecoin:
- Completion of DOGE-ETH bridge.
- NFT platforms (e.g. Opensea) allowing for the DOGE-ETH token to be used for purchases.
NFTs purchasing is high demand with crypto. Allowing for DOGE purchases of NFTs greatly increases its utility.”
Bitfinex Exchange Failures
On September 27, the Bitfinex exchange paid a fee of 7,626 ETH for transferring $100,000 to a third-party wallet of the DeversiFi platform. That is, the fee was 230 times the amount of the transfer itself.
Bitfinex expects the paid fee will return to it after the investigation:
“In transactions such as these, the fees are shouldered by third-party integrations with Bitfinex. This has also been confirmed by DeversiFi in their recent statement. We look forward to DeversiFi’s investigation and to their having this matter sorted on their side.”
On September 30, the Bitfinex exchange did not work for several hours. All functionality became available from 13:05 Moscow time, as they informed their users on Twitter:
“Our intervention is nearing successful completion and the Bitfinex platform will be returning in view-only mode at 9:55 AM UTC. Starting from 10:00 AM UTC, it will be possible to cancel orders before trading opens at 10:05 AM UTC. Thank you for your patience”.
This is not the first time such platform failures have occurred.


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Non farm payrolls sends USD lower
9 April, 2018
Friday’s main economic data came in the form of non-farm payrolls in the USA, the main monthly labour market measure taking into account seasonal adjustments for agriculture. Markets expected the American economy to have created 193,000 jobs in March, so the announcement of only 103,000, sent the US Dollar lower on foreign exchange markets – improving exchange rates for those of you looking to send money to the USA or elsewhere in USD.
On top of Thursday’s worsening US trade deficit, and President Trump’s war of words on trade tariffs, the US Dollar has stayed near its cheapest levels since 2016. Friday’s non-farm payrolls sent the rate for GBP to USD up by nearly a cent, meaning the cost of $100,000 fell by around £500.
Euro buyers beware
Rates for those of you buying Euros have been unusually stable for the last 3 weeks, poised ready for the next Brexit developments or major economic data. If you are waiting for rates to improve further, it could be a dangerous game to play, as we have not seen the Pound significantly higher against the Euro since the General Election, and with trade talks and the Northern Ireland issues still to be resolved, any stalling in progress could easily devalue sterling significantly, and quickly. We are currently seeing Euros over 6% cheaper than last summer’s nadir, making a €200,000 property purchase over £11,000 cheaper than 8 months ago, so improvements for the Pound due to the progress of negotiations, have largely been felt already. Many of our clients are currently considering forward contracts, to lock into today’s exchange rates for a period of up to 2 years ahead, to ensure they aren’t caught out.
Economic data this week
This week sees a full economic calendar to keep us busy watching exchange rates for you. In the UK we have house prices, a GDP estimate from the NIESR, trade balance and industrial/manufacturing production, all of which could move the Pound, and in Europe, German inflation & trade balance, and Eurozone industrial production, will all have an influence on the Euro. After last week’s poor US figures, their own inflation number on Wednesday is one to watch.
0645 Swiss unemployment
0700 German trade balance
0830 UK house prices
1530 Canadian business outlook
1330 US producer inflation
1400 UK GDP estimate
0445 Reserve Bank of Australia Governor speech
0930 UK industrial & manufacturing production
0930 UK trade balance
1330 US consumer inflation
1000 Eurozone industrial production
1330 US import & export price indices
0700 German consumer inflation
1000 Eurozone trade balance
If you have an upcoming currency requirement and have not yet registered with Currency Index, do so now free of charge, and we will help you understand which way exchange rates are moving, when and why – and could save you a small fortune in the process.
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- Brexit deal to be done, or going, going, gone? 25 November, 2020
- Sterling starts the week down from the highs of last week 16 November, 2020
- Votes are in – albeit still being counted, will Donald trump Joe? 4 November, 2020
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One of the most important decisions Foursquare's leadership has made was revealed last week. It's one of those decisions that could determine if Foursquare becomes a footnote or a phenomenon. The only thing more incredible is that its future now will be determined by how consumers use old-fashioned grocery store loyalty cards.
Before diving deeper, it's important to appreciate where Foursquare stands today. It launched in March 2009 and quickly sought to own the concept of the check-in, popularizing it enough for Facebook to mimic the core functionality. Foursquare stands out as a great app for both the user experience and the ease of participation for local businesses. Foursquare has achieved several notable milestones recently:
· In October, it celebrated its 200 millionth check-in two and a half months after announcing its one millionth check-in.
· Foursquare reached 4 million users in October, up from 3 million in August.
· Foursquare is reportedly adding 20,000 users per day, which adds up to 600,000 per month. If it just stays at that pace, it will reach 10 million users around August 2011, and its pace of user sign-ups has been accelerating.
Still, Foursquare hardly has mass reach. If you're trying to reach New York 20- and 30-somethings to promote your new line of bacon-chocolate cupcakes filled with vodka-flavored ganache, you'll reach enough of the target with Foursquare. For most other marketers, scale isn't the selling point. There are several anecdotes and studies supporting Foursquare's skeptics:
· Some Foursquare experiments have outright bombed. Its highly publicized "I Voted" badge was earned by a mere 50,000 users, none of whom actually needed to vote to earn it. All you had to do was say you voted. Compare that to 12 million Facebook users who declared they voted, all without any virtual reward as a motivator.
The idea of checking in isn't for everyone and will only spread so far. There's more to these location apps than check-ins, though. Social recommendations are a major part of the appeal. And now Foursquare is trying to make the rewards of using such an app even more tangible with its new program with Vons, a California supermarket chain.
With the grocery program, detailed in Fast Company, VonsClub members can link their loyalty cards with their Foursquare accounts to earn special coupons. In the process, Foursquare simultaneously made the check-in both more and less important with this deal that seeks to expand the appeal of the app beyond the BCC (bacon-chocolate cupcake) set.
There are opt-in options to make the grocery program more social: participants can automatically check in on Foursquare when their VonsClub card is swiped, and they can "shout" to Foursquare friends when unlocking rewards. It's surprising to see those options, as I don't see shouting as a popular Foursquare feature, and normally the idea is to check in when you get somewhere rather than when you're leaving. There are some benefits to the approach though. Retailers and any participating brands get added exposure, while consumers don't have to actively manage their Foursquare account at all.
For users who are more active, marketers can gain far more creative ways to reach them. For instance, a beer brand could target a grocery store's customers who check in regularly at sporting events or who check in anywhere weekly after 10 p.m. Consumers who check in frequently and link this with loyalty cards will be eligible for more rewards, even if they never became mayor of their grocery store or anywhere else.
Taking a step back, there's a more important question Foursquare will need to answer: Why would people check into grocery stores? It turns out people do already. Searching foursquare.com for Vons in San Diego, I found two right away with more than 1,000 check-ins apiece. I'm able to find other stores such as a Kroger in Dallas and Food Emporium in New York hitting the thousand mark. And while this is a generalization, after reviewing a number of grocery stores in major cities with at least several hundred check-ins, most tend to have roughly a quarter to a third as many total people as total check-ins. Compare that to the number of people waiting ahead of you with 15 items in the 10-item-or-less express lane and it isn't much proportionally, but it's something.
How much of a thing will it be? That's the question worth a hundred million, a billion, or however many dollars Foursquare's founder has been rumored to have turned down lately. It's also worth quite a bit to retailers and marketers that want to figure out how Foursquare and all of its location-centric peers can bridge that legendary gap between online and offline experiences. If this VonsClub deal isn't what Foursquare users or grocery store consumers want, someone else will find a way to do it better.
Today though, it is what it is: something that matters, has momentum, and meets many parties' needs. As for the mayorship of location-based services, that title is still up for grabs.


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Cuba attracts tourists in multi-destination packages with Cancun and the DR
Multi-destination packages with charter flights to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Cancun are increasingly being promoted by Caribbean travel agencies and tour operators such as Viajes Bojórquez and Enjoy Travel Group. The recovery of Caribbean destinations in 2022 was indeed nearly complete, except for Cuba, which remains well below 2019 levels. On the other hand, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico outnumbered pre-pandemic visitors, while Colombia was very close to reaching full recovery. Cuba has far fewer tourists than it did before the covid-19 travel restrictions. It was close to the 1.7 million targets in 2022, and by 2023, it expects 3.5 million visitors, a far higher figure than in 2019.
“Cancun is experiencing rapid growth. Even though many people thought it might be affected by the visa issue with some countries, this stage was never in sight. This year, the Mexican Caribbean is growing with more hotels, such as multi-destination trips with Cuba and the Dominican Republic,” said Armando Bojórquez, CEO of Viajes Bojórquez, to Reportur. mx.
Meanwhile, Enjoy Travel Group will transport approximately 30 groups in 2022. According to the wholesale operator, which is based in Barcelona and also has an office in Cancun, India, Asia, and the Emirates are all very interested in visiting Cuba. “Our evolution is a company that has been in Cuba for 20 years. Last year, we launched a charter service between Mexico and Cuba with nine weekly frequencies, five from Cancun, two from Mexico City, and two from Mérida. As a result of its success, we opened an incoming office in Cancun,” said Jordi Castelló, vice president of Enjoy Travel Group.


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HOUSTON – (By Dale King, Realty News Report) – The number of homes in Texas bought by folks capable of purchasing luxurious residences with seven-figure price tags – and higher – climbed astronomically in the 12-month period ending in October, saysthe 2021 Texas Luxury Home Sales Report just released by Texas Realtors.
The figure jumped by 89.6 percent statewide compared to the previous reporting period, says the study. In all, 11,980 over-a-million-buck dwellings took down their “For Sale” signs when financially well-heeled buyers signed on the dotted line during the year-long period ending Oct. 31.
While the number of luxury domicile sales accounted for less than 3 percent of all homes sold in Texas, the dollar amount represented 13 percent of the dollar volume of residential sales across the state.
Of the four major metropolitan centers surveyed by the Realtors’ group, the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land MSA came in last – and below the state average — with a 76.8 percent increase in the number of luxury homes sold this year compared to the same period last year.
Still, that percentage is nothing to shed tears about. Texas Realtors said 3,264 homes priced at a million bucks or over sold during the past year in the Houston MSA, bringing in $5.4 billion. The survey says 13.3 percent of sales dollar volume generated in Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land derived from luxury acquisitions.
Actually, the numbers shown in the Realtors’ survey of the Houston MSA began and ended at nearly the same point. The quantity of luxury homes sold in the Space City in November 2020 was 210. For October 2021, the number was just a tad higher, at 258.
In between, the figures variously rose and fell. The 275 million-buck dwellings sold in December 2020 dropped to 121 the following month and 170 in February 2021 – as the COVID pandemic began to heat up.
The numbers started to take flight quickly, hitting a maximum for the year-long period of 393 in June of 2021. The figure dropped each month for the following three months – 355 for July 2021, 295 for August 2021 and 253 for September 2021. The sale of five additional homes in October led to a month-end tally of 258.
Topping the list of big dollar home purchases in the four major metros was the San Antonio-New Braunfels MSA, where million-dollar housing purchases soared an incredible 122.1 percent compared to the same period a year before. The 622 homes that sold for $1 million or above racked up $918 million in total sales dollars. In all, 6.6 percent of all the residential sales dollar volume in San Antonio-New Braunfels came from luxury buys.
Second to the San Antonio area was the Austin-Round Rock MSA, where million-dollar minimum purchases hit whopping $5.2 billion, a 101.5 percent increase. The residential sales dollar volume in Austin-Round Rock rose 22.7 percent by the time the kids were ready to out for trick-or-treat on Halloween 2021.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington rang in with an 80.7 percent increase in the number of deluxe homes that cajoled folks to write seven-digit checks. A total of 3,818 came off the market via that million dollars-plus route, tallying a tidy sum of $6.6 billion. In all, 14.3 percent of all residential sales dollar volume in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington MSA came from the sale of upscale residences.
“Home price increases in Texas have led to a strong spike in the number of homes sold in the million-dollar-and-up range,” said Marvin Jolly, chairman of Texas Realtors. “The price increase has shifted the profile of homes that were historically listed in this category.”
“We are seeing more neighborhoods with homes selling for above $1 million,” he added. “In many cases, homes that would have sold for under a million dollars last year are topping that mark this year.”
The annual report examining housing statistics for homes that sold for $1 million or higher across the Lone Star stage showed total sales dollar volume reaching $19.9 billion, a 93.3 percent increase from the previous year.
The Realtors’ report said the median price for Texas luxury homes during the first 10 months of 2021 was $1,360,133, or 0.1 percent more than the previous year. The average price per square foot for luxury homes increased 9.5 percent to $395, more than double the $166 average price per square foot for all residential Texas purchases.
From January to October 2021, luxury homes in Texas spent an average of 55 days on the market, a decrease of 31 days from the same time frame in 2020. On average, luxury homes spend more time on the market than lower-priced homes.
“What defines a million-dollar home,” Jolly concluded, “is rapidly evolving across the state. There is strong demand in the luxury home market in Texas as many buyers from out of state are finding that they can afford a larger or higher-end home compared to the area they came from.”
Dec. 16, 2021 Realty News Report Copyright 2021


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There's another Transformers movie in the pipeline, and this time it looks like Michael Bay is branching out from previous GM loyalties. A Bugatti Veyron has already been confirmed as a new autobot, and now we've learned that Lamborghini's psychopathic Aventador will be joining the fleet as well.
Road & Track · Travis Okulski
Everything You Learn After Driving The Turbocharged Porsche 911 Carrera
Kinja is in read-only mode. We are working to restore service.


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7:15 p.m. | Updated Barnes & Noble, reporting a sharp drop in sales of its Nook tablets, said on Thursday that it would pull back on its ambitions for its device business, shrinking it in size while focusing more on digital content.
Calling Nook sales over the holiday period an “obvious disappointment,” the bookseller’s chief executive, William Lynch, said the company was taking “significant actions to right size investments” in its digital hardware division through steep cuts in advertising and the manufacturing of devices. Mr. Lynch made his remarks in a conference call with analysts shortly after Barnes & Noble reported a 26 percent decline in the fiscal third quarter for the Nook segment, which includes digital tablets and e-readers.
The retrenching of the Nook unit represents a setback to the Barnes & Noble plan to build up its device business as a way of staying competitive in the rapidly changing e-book market. Last year, the company separated the division from the rest of its operations and struck deals with Microsoft and Pearson for hundreds of millions of dollars in financing — signs that it viewed its digital business as the linchpin of future growth.
But the Nook, while drawing favorable reviews, failed to gain traction against more popular tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Apple’s iPad, and its performance over the 2012 holiday season was tepid. Barnes & Noble warned last month that Nook sales for the quarter would fall below expectations, and executives hinted recently that the strategy of operating in the highly competitive tablet space had run its course.
“The Nook is not a failure, not technically,” said James McQuivey, an analyst at Forrester Research. “If you go back two years and ask the Nook product managers how many Nooks they would want to sell by now, I bet they have blown past that number. The problem is the fact that the overall tablet market has actually blown way past the Nook’s performance.”
While saying that Barnes & Noble remained committed to the tablet and e-reader market, Mr. Lynch said the company would adjust its strategy quickly. “We are not going to continue doing what we’re doing,” he said in the conference call.
The results announced Thursday underscored the challenges. The company said that Nook revenue declined to $316 million for the quarter that ended Jan. 26, from $426 million over the same period a year ago. Losses in the unit increased to $190 million, from $83 million last year, as measured before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Over all, the company had a net loss in the quarter of just over $6 million, compared with net income of $52 million a year ago. Revenue in all three major units — Nook, retail and college — was down.
The losses were largely because of lower-than-anticipated sales, inventory charges and higher operating expenses because of advertising costs, the company said.
Mr. Lynch said Thursday that a reformulated Nook strategy would focus more on digital content like e-books and magazines, sales of which increased by 6.8 percent in the quarter. He also said the company planned to be a leader in “digital education” and that it expected that to be a growth area.
In the call with analysts, Mr. Lynch was pressed on whether Barnes & Noble’s digital content was really proprietary. Mr. Lynch acknowledged that what the bookseller possessed was the ability to sell publishers’ content, but he insisted that it was “a strategic asset that is hard to replicate.”
Wall Street seemed heartened by the company’s acknowledgment that it needed to recalibrate its device business, perhaps anticipating that it would accelerate a breakup of the device and retail units. Shares of Barnes & Noble rose 3.35 percent, to close at $15.74.
The company said that there was clear evidence that digital trade book sales were “flattening,” meaning that the bookseller’s physical retail position would be strong in the future. Mr. Lynch said Barnes & Noble continued to take market share from other physical book retailers. The company also promoted prototypes for new stores to be opened in malls and the growth of the college bookstore business.
Combined with the announcement on Monday that Leonard Riggio, the company’s chairman and largest shareholder, was considering purchasing the retail segment, the news added a positive gloss to the brick-and-mortar business that it had not had for some time.
That notion got some support with the earnings report. Retail sales fell just more than 10 percent in the quarter, largely because of the closing of some unprofitable stores. But Barnes & Noble had largely anticipated the lower revenue and despite the sales decline, retail profits increased 7.3 percent, to $212 million, in part because of higher sales margins and “expense management,” the company said.
Despite the shift in digital strategy, Mr. Lynch emphasized that the company was not abandoning the Nook division.
“Nook Media has been financing itself since October of 2012 due to the strong investment partners we’ve been able to attract in Microsoft and Pearson,” he said. He added that the Nook segment and the physical stores drove traffic to each other and needed to remain in partnership.
But analysts sounded a skeptical note. “Barnes & Noble stands at a fork in the road and rather than choose one path, it will likely need to split into two companies and let the retail business go down one path while freeing the Nook division to go down another,” said Mr. McQuivey, of Forrester. “There’s no guarantee that either path will lead to the promised land, but the two units are facing such different challenges and such unique prospects that it doesn’t make sense for them to try to work together to solve such different problems.”


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Legislators are introducing a bill to the Senate that would keep recalled rental cars off the road. The bill has the backing of all four major rental companies – Enterprise, which owns National and Alamo, Hertz/Advantage, Avis/Budget and Dollar/Thrifty, according to a statement released by Sen. Barbara Boxer. Those companies comprise 93 percent of the rental car market, and Hertz was the only one of the four major car rental companies to initially pledge not to rent cars under recall.
The bill will be named after Raechel and Jacqueline Houck (above, right), two young California sisters who died in 2004 in a rented Chrysler PT Cruiser that had been previously recalled for problems with the steering column. The steering fluid was prone to leaking, leaving drivers unable to control their vehicles. Enterprise Rental hadn't fixed the problem before renting the car to the Houck sisters.
"I remain very hopeful and optimistic" that the legislation will pass, Cally Houck, Raechel and Jacqueline's mother tells Autoblog. Houck has been pushing for the new legislation for the past few years. "But it's not done yet ... I remain a bit cynical, based on my history lobbying for this issue. But we do have a consensus of all the industry's major players."


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October 26, 2016
Another Purple treat.
Warner Bros will give Prince’s single ‘Sexy M.F.’ a picture disc release as part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday 2016.
‘Sexy M.F.’ was the first single to be released from 1992’s Love Symbol, Prince’s fourteenth album and the second (and final) to feature his backing band The New Power Generation.
Read Next: Prince – a life in record sleeves
The single was originally released on multiple formats, including a Love Symbol-shaped 7″ disc, CD, cassette and on VHS. The 2016 reissue brings the track to 12″. There will be 5000 copies knocking around indie record stores near you on 25th November.
Browse the full list of Record Store Day Black Friday releases here.


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Etsy not only provides crafts that would look great on your wall and one of the only legit “you can work from home” job opportunities on the Internet, but it’s also doing amazing social impact work. Katie-Hunt Morr, the phenomenal senior manager of values and impact at Etsy, shares tips on creating social impact.
The United Kingdom-based NGO Forum for the Future recently launched the Protein Challenge 2040, a coalition that aims to bring together the global food industry, environmental groups and health organizations to ensure that both the production and consumption of protein worldwide will shift toward a more sustainable path.
What do you do when you find that your paycheck isn’t enough to survive on in the country’s fourth-largest city? Many of us would tender our resignation and move. One woman decided to make a statement about it — and got fired. Not a surprise according to the 1,300 and counting comments she got on her blog post, but it has inflamed that old but familiar debate about that topic we hate to discuss: the right to a living wage.
DineEquity, the company that manages IHOP and Applebee’s franchises, has been hit with yet again with litigation over alleged labor code violations — this time in Southern California.
The self-proclaimed “economic hit man” explains how he used optimistic modeling to get developing countries signed up for more debt then they could manage while lining his firm up for lucrative development contracts. It’s called the death economy, and John Perkins is back to explain how we can change things around.
People think that if you house the homeless then you’ve solved homelessness. But the CEO of Mobile Loaves and Fishes, Alan Graham, says that’s not true. He’s creating a radically different approach that turns our current response to homelessness upside down. He’s building an entire village for the chronically homeless of Austin, Texas.
SPECIAL SERIES: Fostering Diversity and Purpose at Work
Girls and boys become what they see on TV and in films. “In the time it takes to write a TV show or a movie, we can change what the future looks like,” Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis said during a recent speech in Hollywood about gender issues.
The battle between free data access and personal security grabbed headlines this week, around the iPhone belonging to San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook. Apple refused an FBI request to build a “backdoor” into the phone, allowing investigators to access encrypted data. But software legend John McAfee is storming in like Han Solo.
Pedal Forward, the makers of an American-made bamboo bicycle, are out to leverage sales to help the homeless find jobs here in the U.S. and boost access to transportation overseas.
Is your small business trying to think of ways to be more socially responsible? Check out these seven strategies that your company can implement to start helping out nonprofits in your local area.
Hana Tajima, a Japanese-British fashion designer from the United Kingdom, has launched a “Modest Wear Collection” with Japan-based fast fashion retailer Uniqlo.
Brazil is facing an epidemic of the birth defect microcephaly. The government says it’s due to the Zika virus. So does the World Health Organization. But physicians in Brazil and Argentina are insisting that the answer is in the water — and due to Brazil’s controversial use of larvicide.


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What’s the strategy behind the success of The North Face?
- Staff Denver Business Journal
Some of The North Face’s secrets to success will be revealed at an event hosted by the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) at the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus on Monday, Nov. 12. Aaron Carpenter, vice president of marketing for The North Face, will give a presentation about the company’s approach to brand building and marketing.
The event, titled “The North Face Brand Building Journey,” is free and open to the public, and will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Stadium Club at Folsom Field. It’s part of the Business of Outdoor Recreation Series, presented by OIA’s Outdoor University and the CU Leeds School of Business.
Carpenter will discuss The North Face’s model of “athlete-tested expedition storytelling,” and the company’s efforts to segment consumers and inspire a global movement of outdoor exploration.
Frank Hugelmeyer, president and CEO of OIA, said in a news release, “The North Face is one of the most iconic companies in the outdoor industry, and their story can give aspiring business leaders valuable insight into how to build a brand.”
Awards: Roth Sheppard Architects, a Denver-based architecture firm, was named the American Institute of Architects’ Western Mountain Region 2012 “Architectural Firm of the Year” at the organization’s annual conference in Tucson, Ariz. The award is presented annually to one firm in the region that consists of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. The award jury said: “During the past three decades Roth Sheppard Architects has quietly had a profound influence on the quality of the built environment and the importance of the profession of architecture ...”
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